fiberhart

Modeling and Quilting

A rather interesting combination, no? I did quite a bit of work on Blue Tsunami yesterday. The circles are quilted with metallic silver, and the curved lines (waves?) with Superior variegated Rainbows.

I thought a lot about how I wanted to do this. This piece says 'water' to me, and I wanted to evoke that same sense with the quilting. Not to much, just gentle curves rolling around the circles. I wanted a sense of piece and calm, and gentle, rolling waves. Did I achieve my goal?





This piece has been an interesting journey. I started it to answer two questions: can I make my hand-dyes and printed fabric play well together, and what would happen if I worked with strip sets that were made with curved piecing. From there, the piece began to tell me what it wanted.

I still need to trim out (curves, of course) the top and bottom borders, then put on the facing. But I've answered my questions, learned, and am pleased with the results.

As for the modeling, I was invited to a gathering last night with my wildlife rehab friend Patti. It was a group of people who get together regularly and draw, mostly portraits. It was an eclectic group, lots of interesting discussion. When they asked if I'd model, I agreed. Lanny, our host, has a large studio behind his home. Part is set up for drawing, and the other half is his woodshop where he makes this incredible furniture from fire-killed and other dead juniper that he collects out on the dessert. You can see one of his couches in the picture. Anyway, here I am, all set up. Lanny is drawing on the right, and James is on the left.



And here I am with Candee drawing.



It was fascinating watching how the different portraits developed when I took my breaks. Each one was different, yet each was me. I learned that my ability to dissociate comes in handy when you have to hold a pose for twenty minutes, and that it is harder to dissociate when they play good rock and roll music!

Here's James' finished portrait, just to give you an idea.



Like I said, all were different, yet all were clearly me. Lanny and Candee gave me their finished drawings, and I'm trying to figure out how I can mount and hang them.

We're off to church, some grocery shopping, and hopefully more work on Blue Tsunami. It's freezing cold, we had our first snow yesterday with more coming next week. A good day to hole up in the studio! Hope your week is a productive one!